Golf club reduces carbon footprint and energy costs with new Windhager boilers

Windhager has recently provided Taunton and Pickeridge Golf Club with a twin biomass boiler system to reduce its energy costs. The Somerset golf club is run by its members, who jointly made the decision to convert their previous oil heating system to a Windhager 120 kW BioWIN Excel cascade system with a 1500 litre AccuWIN accumulator tank. The system was fitted by Somerset and South West based installer, Orin Green Energy, who have much experience of biomass installations and specialist knowledge of Windhager products.

The main objective presented by the golf club was to decrease the amount paid for energy and develop an income stream from the government’s RHI scheme that would benefit development of the club and venue.

Taunton and Pickeridge Golf Club is the highest rated club by Today’s Golfer magazine in the South West and has been host to the PGA National 4BBB Championship qualifying round, along with several county championship competitions. As well as being a traditional 18-hole golf club, the venue also has four multifunction rooms to accommodate conferences and parties, including weddings.

The club has installed two 60kW Windhager BioWIN Excel wood pellet boilers as an environmentally friendly and economic alternative to their previous oil boiler that was consuming on average 15,000 litres of oil per year. With the cost of oil currently reaching as high as 6.4p per kWh and wood pellets as little as 4.1p per kWh generated the club will save a considerable amount of money in energy costs.

The installation qualified for the government’s RHI scheme which will also generate a significant amount of money in return payments. The scheme offers a repayment of 8.6p per kWh generated which will amount to £12,200 per year for the current energy consumption of the golf club. This, alongside the savings from the reduced energy costs, means that the initial loan to pay for the installation will be paid back within five years, and thereafter will generate an average of £22,600 surplus per year.

Mark Readman, Executive Manager at Taunton and Pickeridge Golf Club commented, “With the future of the club in mind, the low running costs of a biomass boiler system as well as the RHI scheme payments encouraged our decision to convert to biomass boilers.”

The two Windhager BioWIN 60kW Excel biomass boilers were installed in a purpose-built cedar-clad plant room, built by Orin Green Energy, outside the main property. This also housed an integral wood pellet store and 1500 litre AccuWIN accumulator tank to run alongside the existing plumbing and central heating system at the golf club. The BioWIN Excel is particularly suitable for properties with demanding heat requirements, such as the golf club, and involves very little maintenance or attention.

The two automatically fed BioWIN Excel wood pellet boilers were specified for the golf club not only for their cost benefits, but for their operational efficiency all year round. The boilers have been installed in a cascade system which enables them to continue to provide heating to the property during servicing and maintenance without the entire system needing to be shut down. The boilers also have a fully automated operational function which allows them to simply be switched on and left to run.

“We found the whole process very smooth and seamless, Scott and his team kept us informed throughout every stage. The installation didn’t cause any disruption to the daily running of the club and we were extremely pleased. Since the installation we definitely feel the difference with the new boilers, which run exceptionally well and we are pleased with our investment. We look forward to the benefits they will bring to the club over future years" Mark finished.